Katz: Israel has ‘no territorial ambitions’ in Lebanon, will stay until Hezbollah disarmed

Defense Minister Israel Katz said Monday that Israel has “no territorial ambitions in Lebanon,” but the IDF will not withdraw “a millimeter” until the Hezbollah terror group is disarmed.

Katz’s comments came on the same day that the US Central Command chief met with both Lebanon’s president and its military chief in Lebanon, days after Jerusalem and Beirut signed a framework agreement aimed at ending their conflict, a move that has been repeatedly criticized by Hezbollah and its allies.

The deal commits Lebanon to restoring sovereignty over its territory through the “verified disarmament of non-state armed groups and dismantlement of associated infrastructure,” enabling a progressive Israeli withdrawal, according to the text released by the State Department.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Monday that his country’s army plans to deploy up to the border with Israel in its efforts to displace Hezbollah.

Meanwhile, Israel again struck Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon overnight, in what it said was a response to the terror group’s attacks on its forces in the area. Separately an IDF soldier was seriously wounded in an explosion in the area on Monday, the military said.

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Speaking to reporters on Monday, Katz said the military is unlikely to withdraw from additional areas of southern Lebanon beyond the two agreed-upon locations from which it will pull out as part of a pilot program that will see the Lebanese army take over.

“People should not hold their breath wondering where the next place will be from which Israel will withdraw in Lebanon, because it will not happen until Hezbollah is disarmed. We have no territorial ambitions in Lebanon, but until Hezbollah is disarmed, we will not withdraw a millimeter,” Katz said.

He said that principle was accepted by the US and anchored in the military annex to the framework agreement signed between Israel and Lebanon. Katz also noted that when he met US Central Command chief Adm. Brad Cooper last week, they agreed that “the IDF will not withdraw from the three security zones — in Lebanon, Syria, and Gaza.”

Katz said he also does not believe the Lebanese army will “suddenly become lions charging at Hezbollah,” and therefore the IDF’s presence in Lebanon will be “long term.”

The defense minister confirmed that Israel had recently tried to get the Lebanese army to enter the Ali Taher Ridge area, under which Hezbollah has a major tunnel system, and clear it of terror operatives. However, “the Lebanese army refused to do it,” Katz said. Currently, the IDF remains stationed in the area, but it has not entered the underground passages where some 30 Hezbollah operatives are believed to be holed up.

Briefing reporters, Katz claimed that had it not been for American pressure on Israel, the IDF would have caused Hezbollah’s collapse in Lebanon. He said the IDF had planned a “massive” aerial campaign that, he claimed, “would have dismantled Hezbollah,” and that the terror group was “begging the Iranians to save it.”

The defense minister blamed US President Donald Trump’s linking of the US-Iran talks with Lebanon for preventing Israel from doing so. According to Katz, when Trump “linked Iran and Lebanon,” Israel had to stop “bringing down buildings in Beirut,” but could carry out “surgical strikes” on Hezbollah in the Lebanese capital.

“I’m sorry about that linkage, but it was an American interest. They very much wanted to advance the possibility of negotiations with Iran,” he said, adding that “when you enter into a partnership, it has advantages, but it also comes with certain constraints.”

Katz said he was not present for one call between Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of the signing of the MOU between the US and Iran. “I was not on the fifth call, and the president applied pressure that ultimately created the linkage between the arenas,” he said.

“That is why we moved to plan B,” the defense minister said, referring to the IDF’s operations north of the Litani River and the expansion of its security zone in southern Lebanon in the past month, which he said was carried out with US approval.

Regarding tensions with Iran, Katz said that if Iran attacks Israel with ballistic missiles in response to actions in Lebanon, the IDF will respond and is preparing to operate independently.

“It could happen even within two days,” he said. “We have targets to strike in Iran, and the IDF is prepared and on alert, but we will not interfere with the US president’s course of action vis-à-vis the Iranians.”

Katz also said the IDF still has “more tunnels to destroy and blow up,” including a major underground Hezbollah system beneath the Beaufort Ridge, which he said will be destroyed with “500 tons of explosives.”

לאור הפרת ההסכם ופגיעה בכוחות צה״ל במרחב הביטחוני: צה"ל תקף שלוש מפקדות של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה בדרום לבנון

חיל האוויר תקף אמש שלוש מפקדות של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחבים נבטיה ומייפדון שבדרום לבנון.

התקיפות בוצעו בתגובה להמשך הפגיעה בכוחותינו הפועלים במרחב הביטחוני על ידי… pic.twitter.com/zkaY1vjPLN

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) June 29, 2026

The IDF said Monday that the Israeli Air Force struck three Hezbollah command centers in the Nabatieh and Mayfadoun areas in southern Lebanon overnight.

The strikes were carried in response to “the continued attacks against our forces operating in the security zone by the Hezbollah terror organization,” the IDF said.

Separately, the IDF said that troops of the Multi-Domain unit destroyed a Hezbollah rocket launcher in southern Lebanon.

The military also said Monday that an IDF reservist soldier was severely wounded by an explosion in southern Lebanon earlier that day, and taken to a hospital for treatment. According to an IDF probe of the incident, the blast occurred at around 1:30 p.m. on Monday, during operations of the Commando Brigade in the village of Arnoun. The cause of the explosion is still under investigation by the military.

Days after Israel and Lebanon signed the framework agreement in Washington, following several rounds of direct negotiations, US Central Command chief Adm. Bradley Cooper met in Lebanon on Monday with the country’s military chief and president, who vowed to implement the terms of the deal and assert control over Hezbollah.

Aoun told Cooper on Monday that he was committed to extending the state’s control through its military up to the border with Israel.

He reaffirmed to the CENTCOM chief “the Lebanese state’s determination to extend its authority, through its armed forces, all the way to the southern border,” the presidency said in a statement, adding that the pair “discussed the preparations related to the start of implementing the framework agreement” between Lebanon, Israel, and the US.

A statement from CENTCOM said the leaders “discussed the path forward” in the wake of the deal, noting that Cooper met last week in Israel with “senior civilian and military leaders” — who were not named — and visited American troops deployed to the country.

During an ongoing trip to the Middle East, Adm. Brad Cooper, CENTCOM commander, engaged senior civilian and military leaders in Israel and Lebanon. While in Lebanon, Cooper and his staff met with President Joseph Aoun and Lebanese Armed Forces Commanding General Rodolphe Haykal.… pic.twitter.com/9KRSJyNJIR

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) June 29, 2026

Cooper also met on Monday with Lebanon military chief Gen. Rodolphe Haykal near Beirut for a discussion of “the latest developments in Lebanon and the region, the importance of ensuring the success of the mechanism for implementing the security annex to the framework agreement, as well as ways to strengthen cooperation in the future,” according to the Lebanese Armed Forces.

“Haykal expressed his gratitude for the US support, stressing the need to continue cooperation between the two armies in a way that preserves Lebanon’s security and stability,” the LAF added.

Hezbollah on Monday continued to blast the Israel-Lebanon framework agreement and said it reserved the right to self-defense and accused Israel of a “blatant violation of the ceasefire.”

In a statement, the Iran-backed terror group said that it “reiterates that what the enemy has done is a blatant violation of the ceasefire to which it has adhered until now, and that it is monitoring and tracking these violations, and reserves its right to defend its homeland and its people.”

In addition, Lebanese Parliament Speaker and Hezbollah ally Nabih Berri said early Monday that the trilateral framework agreement between Lebanon, Israel, and the United States was unviable as it didn’t guarantee Lebanon’s rights.

“This agreement will not pass, and it will not be implemented in its current form,” Berri said in a statement shared by his party the Amal movement, adding that it was “an agreement of ‘dictates,’ not an agreement that preserves Lebanon’s rights.”